


Cultural Explorations of Thedas

by HigheverRains



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types
Genre: Ancient Elvhen Culture, Avvar Culture, Circle Culture, City Elf Culture, Cultural Explorations of Thedas, Dalish Culture, Dragon Age Lore, Dwarven Culture, Free Marches Culture, Gen, Orlesian Culture, Qunari Culture, Surface Dwarf Culture, Tevinter Culture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-05
Updated: 2015-11-05
Packaged: 2018-04-30 02:50:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5147546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HigheverRains/pseuds/HigheverRains
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The purpose of the Cultural Explorations of Thedas is to try and explain the hows and the whys and the in-depth cultural rules under which various groups in Thedas live. </p><p>Each cultural exploration will provide an in-depth analysis for a specific culture, paying attention to various historical aspects and attempting to narrow down potential sources of cultural traditions and differences within Thedosian history. This may assist in working out some of the vaguer events in Thedas lore and historical perspective, as well as give greater insight into the cultures and people of Thedas.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cultural Explorations of Thedas

**Cultural Explorations of Thedas - Preface**

_“Culture is the way in which a group of people solves problems and reconciles dilemmas” – Edgar H. Schein._

For those unaware, my background lies in cross-cultural communications. The interactions and intersections of cultures is something I find a lot of interest in, and for that reason, I have found myself diving quite deeply into the Dragon Age lore. 

The world of Dragon Age is massive, and growing every day. We learn more from codices and each new game, novel, or comic that comes out. While the World of Thedas books certainly provide a broad overview of individual people, locations, and historical events in Thedas, it does little in providing the depth that comes from really digging deeper. One of the best parts about Dragon Age is that everything is filtered through a lens of historiography and cultural dominance (just like the real world), and it is often the case that we lose a great deal of history in regards to various cultures and peoples. There are conflicting accounts, the evolution of ideals, and ultimately the creation of new cultures over time.

The purpose of these Cultural Explorations then is to try and explain the hows and the whys and the in depth cultural rules under which various groups in Thedas live. Each distinct culture (not race for reasons that become clear in analyzing the differences between City Elves and the Dalish or Surface Dwarves and those in Orzammar for instance), we will consider a few different models of cultural analysis, some hypotheses on how/why they ended up that way, and some general considerations about how these groups live, operate and interact. 

The models we will be considering for this exploration are fairly well known to those who study culture. They include:

  1. **The Iceberg Model** \- made popular by Edward T. Hall in 1976, this is the simplest sort of model we have for understanding cultures. 
  2. **Hofstede’s Cultural Model** (1980) – the most widely recognized, and not without its faults, though really a groundwork for most cultural evaluations. 
  3. **Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner’s Seven Factors** (1993)– this is an evolution on the Hofstede model with a focus on addressing it’s perceived shortcomings, and is also incredibly popular due to the fact it attempts to actually measure and quantify existing cultures along spectrums with bell-curve mapping. It is a little more nuanced than Hofstede, though again has a few limitations. It is this we will use instead of Hofstede, but we will cover Hofstede in the preface briefly since it is fundamental to understanding the Seven Factors theory mechanics. 



* * *

** The Models: **

**_Iceberg Model:_**  
The premise of this model is that culture is like an iceberg, with a little you can clearly see, but a great deal underneath with the ability to sink you if you are not wary of it. Those conflicts we experience are often those that lie below the apparent surface. We also see this referred to as an onion model (layers). The Iceberg Model breaks down thusly:

  1. The Tip of the Iceberg/The Outer Layer: Explicit Culture  
This includes the things we see upon immediate exposure to a culture. This can include languages, food, building style, monuments, shrines, agriculture, markets and trade, fashions, or art. These are what we usually describe when we consider foreign countries we have visited. Each of these will be analyzed as part of the cultural dynamics for each group. 
  2. Just Under the Surface/The Middle Layers: Norms and Values  
_Norms:_ these are a cultural answer to “what should we do?”, the cultural moral compass of right and wrong.  
_Values:_ these are the more personal answer to “what do I want to do?” , how do determine good and bad. (Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner, Riding the Waves of Culture, p. 30)  
Note that a culture’s values and norms may conflict. What is considered right (legal) may not be what is considered good (as a determined value). Where these conflicts arise, cultures are in flux, and capable of change. An example: 
    * Blood Magic is prohibited under Andrastian law (Norm - Blood Magic is Wrong) 
    * Blood Magic used in the Joining is the reason that Grey Wardens can end the Blight (Value – Blood Magic can be used to do Good) 
When the norms and values of a culture are aligned, cultural traditions grow from that alignment. Each chapter will seek to establish where the norms and values align to further explore the cultural traditions in Thedas. 
  3. The Deep Unknown/The Core: Assumptions About Existence  
The ideas in the core answer the questions: “ _Why_ do we value this? _Why_ is this the norm?” Asking these questions can result in confusion in real life situations, because they are just the implicitly understood parts of a culture. These are the true heart of a cultural paradigm and worldview.  
Most of these questions stem from the most basic of values: Survival – either you survived and that value was passed on, or you died and it was not. The values of cultures then involve answering the questions: “What can we do to ensure we survive?” An example:  
  
In Dragon Age: Origins, one of the tensions between Bhelen and Harrowmont lies over the importance of the Caste system: Harrowmont wants to keep it, while Bhelen would dismantle it. Both sides find this a difficult conversation, because it is fundamentally tied to the Dwarven ideal of identity (note, there are dwarves that buck this trend as in all things, but we are speaking generally, and even on the surface there are those that cling to their old Caste as a badge of honor). The real Assumptions About Existence comes when we dig deeper. “Why do we call Paragons Living Ancestors?” we might ask, and the Dwarven reply may be something like, “Because they are the best of us.” And we might then say, “The best of you are in the past then? How can someone existing now be linked to that past? What about them makes them the best? Why them and no one else?” And there may not be a reply (sometimes there is, and that’s okay too). That is the bottom of that line of questioning, and so we then spread outward into hypotheses and other observations. We might recall that the dwarves call their history and records Memories, and that those who keep the Memories do so in Lyrium and are called Shapers. We may propose that there was something in the past the dwarves desperately identify as being their Golden Age, and they venerate that which reflects those days long gone. This is the “We will never be as good as we were,” mentality (to quote Sera), and shapes the thinking of dwarven upper class instinctively. Attempts to earn and defend honor is then seen as protecting the name that was built. These are fundamental assumptions. A dwarf could not necessarily answer “Why is honor so important to you?” but that does not mean that an outside observer cannot generate hypotheses in their own attempt to answer the question a dwarf may never even have thought to ask.  
  
This example is interesting because the implications for the Casteless are that their past is tainted and lost. If the past is as good as a dwarf will ever be, and they should struggle to obtain that which was, then the Casteless must struggle to become…criminals and the honorless. This goes a long way towards explaining why the Casteless are generally vagabonds and thieves and very disadvantaged, and why many Dwarves feel that they never will be worth anything. Thus the Caste – the position of honor from your ancestors in that Golden Age – is as good as you ever can be, and therefore if your Ancestors were criminals, so to should you be.  
  
Culture is ultimately the answer to the question about these Assumptions of Existence at its deepest levels, the answers that are so obvious they have vanished into the subconscious. Culture arises through the needs of a group, the solutions they enact, and what they see as important in a situation. The Dwarves experienced something so significant that it led to the downfall of the race (possibly the darkspawn destruction of their empire, though I would argue this goes even earlier since Paragons and the Living Ancestors concept was alive and well in the First Blight). The Caste system, the reversion to the honor and identity of their forebears, was a coping mechanism adopted by an entire people until it became ingrained in their vision of the world. 



_**Culture then is the context in which a group understands the world.**_

**_Limitations of the Iceberg Model_**  
Critics argue that the iceberg model removes the observer from the equation, allowing for an “us vs. them” mentality to form in analysis, or to put it another way an observer can fall into the trap of “how are they different?” instead of also considering what about a culture is similar and recognizable. This is still a concern even for fictional settings, because the context in which the fantasy culture was created took place within the paradigm of a real existing culture. There are assumptions that carry through subconsciously which must be accounted for when comparing and contrasting the various Thedosian cultures. Common themes between varying cultures may be an interesting correlation within the fictional universe, or they may just be reflections on the external culture of our own world being unwittingly transposed across the entirety. 

The Iceberg Model also has a limitation in its application in that there is no way of knowing the extent or strength of a norm, belief, or value to a culture in this model. We can make assumptions, but there is no inherent measurement. This means that we may say that Andrastian cultures are afraid of mages, presumably because of Tevinter influence (including blood sacrifices, slavery, and the breaching of the Fade by the Magisters Sidereal), but not the extent to which an individual is afraid of mages. We have a general baseline, but no specific application.

* * *

_**Hofstede’s Cultural Model** _

Hofstede’s model recognizes the inherent conflict between cultures, and identifies five factors that make up a culture. These factors are:

  1. _Power Distance_ (is authority shared and distributed evenly, or are strict hierarchies in place within the culture?)
    1. High Power Distance/Strict Heirarchy – the Qun’s rigid adherence to rank (including names that are literally occupational titles). 
    2. Low Power Distance/Distribution of Power – the Dalish tribes answer to no one, and even Keepers are in contact with everyone in their clan rather than ruling over them. 
  2. _Individualism_ (does the individual reign supreme or is the welfare/wishes of the group more important?)
    1. Individualistic: the Avvar have very personal and private stories in their earned names, and the individual relationships they make (mages possessed by spirits for instance) are vital to their culture. 
    2. Collectivistic: the Qun seeks to establish a system dedicated to bringing about a harmonious and highly efficient world. The Qun comes before the individual, and those that rebel are “re-educated” back into the fold. 
  3. _Masculinity vs. Femininity_ (these are stereotyped values from the Real World – Masculinity is defined by a focus on status, competition, and assertiveness. Femininity is defined by a focus on nurturing, caring, and modesty) – it should be noted that this is one of the most controversial parts of the Hofstede model, which many adaptations seek to alter/improve on as the language here is quite stereotyped.
    1. Masculine (competition, status, assertiveness) – Tevinter is a power-game, and status is everything, from a person’s class to opinions. Success is achieved through struggle (hence the blood magic) regardless of who is hurt in the process (Dorian’s backstory lives here). 
    2. Femininity (nurturing, caring, modesty) – taking care of others and caring about what happens to them is the new fundamental for the Dalish clans, which seek to protect their own. Some tribes accept City Elves that seek refuge, and the community functions through trade rather than material gain. Goods are shared, just as fires are. 
  4. _Uncertainty Avoidance_ (does this culture like to know all the facts before making a decision, acting in a risk averse manner when dealing with others, or does this culture take risks in interactions and need less information to make a decision or judgment?)
    1. High Uncertainty Avoidance – the Dalish again are the poster children. They are wary of outsiders, do not trust easily, and do not lightly agree to offer their help. It takes a great deal to win the trust of a clan, and until you do they will be very wary even speaking with you. It is safer not to be friendly for the Dalish. 
    2. Low Uncertainty Avoidance – Orlais with its spymasters likes to gamble with high stakes. Sometimes this pays off, and sometimes it backfires spectacularly. Impulsive and quick moving is fundamental to the Great Game. The risk is what makes it exciting. 
  5. _Long-term vs. Short-term Orientation_ (is a culture impulsive and quick to change or act with a focus on short-term gains, or is there a focus on long-term outcomes and the weight and stretch of history, with a heavy emphasis on the depth of a relationship over time?)
    1. Long-Term Orientation – the Dalish again are the ultimate long-term. Their leaders are called Keepers whose job it is to ensure that they can recover what was lost, no matter how much it may take. They are seeking a day when they have a home again, and have been wandering a very long time while waiting. 
    2. Short-Term Orientation – The dwarves are focused very much on the immediate present, and hardly ever look to the future except in passing, simply because the darkspawn are always at the gates. Either they live now, or not at all, hence the Provings while the darkspawn still dwell in the Deep Roads and they need every warrior they can get. 



_**Limitations of Hofstede’s Factors**_  
There are those who argue that Hofstede’s factors suffer from the same issue as the Iceberg Model in that it is an either/or choice. This either/or situation does not represent any culture, which settle somewhere along a spectrum between the two. Hofstede’s models may allow for measuring, but does not come with a set built in. 

Hofstede’s critics say that the model itself is too simplistic, and that there are more factors that have been missed (communication patterns for instance) or that current factors are heavily based in stereotypes. This is the case with the masculinity/femininity evaluation.

* * *

_**Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner’s Seven Factors**_  
This is an updated and altered version that borrows from Hofstede but allows for variation between individuals in a measurable context (this is done by surveying and observation in the Real World paired with a numerical measure that is usually graphed in a bell-curve form). It allows for a more spectrum based approach, a recognition of differences in individuals to find a general trend per culture, and alters some of Hofstede’s more problematic factors to result in the following:

 **Aspects of Culture:**  
(Culture is split into three main pieces)

  1. _How a society interacts with people_
    1. Rules vs. relationships
      1. Rules: Qunari 
      2. Relationships: Dwarven Merchant’s Guild
    2. Individualism vs. Communitarianism 
    3. Emotional Restraint vs. Emotional Freedom
      1. Restraint: Orlais 
      2. Freedom: Avvar
    4. High Context (subtle interactions, need for trust/relation, consider the final puzzle before finding the individual pieces, general to specific details, “saving face”) vs Low Context (adaptability, flexibility, consider the pieces and then the larger puzzle, specific details to general, “being frank”)
      1. High Context: Dwarves in Orzammar – “saving face”/honor 
      2. Low Context: The Free Marches – constantly shifting to suit the needs of the day, specific individuals and stories and situations become the point of focus. Everyone is honest about exactly what they want.
    5. Status by accomplishment vs. Status by ascription (connections, age, or circumstances of birth)
      1. Accomplishment: The Free Marches – be amazing, get named Champion; fix the city, get named Viscount. 
      2. Ascription: Dwarves – you are exactly what your Ancestors were, and that is not really something you can change short of becoming a Paragon.
  2. _How a society views time_
    1. Past-present-future focused, how connected are each of these?
      1. Past-focused, future unimportant, living in the immediate present: Dwarves 
      2. Present focused, Past important, future less important but still an opportunity: Dalish
    2. Time as Linear or Time as Circular
      1. Linear: The Qun – since struggle is an illusion, the world just keeps on along a single path. 
      2. Circular: The dwarves – history repeats itself (Blights), you are what happened long in the past, and it will affect your future. 
  3. _Is a society is at the whim of its fate/circumstances or can a society can shape its own destiny through its actions?_
    1. Fate supreme: City Elves – this is our lot, and we will just have to live with it. We’re lucky we have anything at all. 
    2. Shaping Destiny/the World: Ancient Elvhen – “tame the Pillars of the Earth” 



  
(Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner, Riding the Waves of Culture, p. 12-13)

 ** _Limitations of the Seven Factors Model_**  
Even general assumptions might be wrong, and the measurements are based on subjective information gathering. It is impossible to remove the subconcious cultural bias of evaluators when observations are made (or missed).

* * *

**What To Expect Moving Forward**  
Each cultural exploration will provide an in depth Iceberg Model analysis for each culture, paying attention to various historical aspects and attempting to narrow down potential sources of various cultural traditions and differences within Thedosian history. This may assist in working out some of the vaguer events in Thedas lore and historical perspective, as well as give greater insight into the cultures themselves. 

Chapters will also provide a numbered scale (1-10) for the various spectrums in the Trompenaars Seven Factors series. This will be a purely qualitative scale, with 5 being neutral between the two extremes. Hopefully this will provide a quick visual comparison of the different cultures of Thedas for easy reference and as an overall snapshot of the general cultural situation. While this has little of the accuracy of the bell curve structure that is normally used, given the fictional basis and the lack of obtainable data the evaluation must maintain an element of flexibility rather than rigid number evaluations (normally a scale of 1-100).

 **Planned Chapters**  
The Dalish – Evolution of a Peoples in Crisis  
Alienage Cultures and Adaptations  
Dwarves – The Rigidity of the Caste System  
Surface Dwarves – Mercantilism, Guilds, and Castes on the Surface  
The Avvar – Spirits, Holds, and the Forces of Nature  
Tevinter – Blood Magic, Slavery, and the Vestiges of Empire  
Aspects of Qunari Evolution – The Importance of Purpose and a Place In the World  
Circles and Mage Culture  
Behind the Masks: Orlesian Expansion and the Post-First-Blight World


End file.
